SpongeBob SquarePants Review

by Susan Granger (ssg722 AT aol DOT com)
November 18th, 2004
Susan Granger's review" SpongeBob Square Pants Movie" (Paramount Pictures) Of the 57.8 million people every month who watch this top-ranked Saturday-morning cartoon with its low-tech, hand-drawn animation, some 13.1 million are teenagers and an amazing 20.4 million are adults, aged 18-49. Now there's a big-screen feature, including a version of the theme song sung by Avil Lavigne and tracks from hip bands like Wilco and the Flaming Lips. SpongeBob is a big, yellow, optimistic kitchen sponge who lives in a pineapple in a place called Bikini Bottom, next door to a grumpy octopus named Squidward Tentacles, who dwells in a tiki doll. SpongeBob's friends are Gary, his pet snail; Sandy Cheeks, a Texas surfer squirrel; and Patrick, a dimwitted pink starfish. SpongeBob works as a fry-cook at the Krusty Krab shack. In this deliciously absurd coming-of-age adventure, naive SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny) and clueless Patrick (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) go on a quest to retrieve King Neptune's (voiced by Jeffrey Tambor) stolen crown. One of SpongeBob's strongest supporters is Mindy the Mermaid (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) and the villain is Plankton, a scheming, power-hungry amoeba (voiced by Doug Lawrence). There's a biker hit-man Dennis (voiced by Alec Baldwin) and - at the climax - there's even David Hasselhoff ("Baywatch") keeping SpongeBob afloat.
    By co-writers Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Kent Osborne, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbett and director/creator Stephen Hillenburg, the whimsical, lighthearted script oozes hip, irreverent wit and sophisticated satire. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" is an irreverent, goofy, irresistible 9, delivering laughter along with a lesson about integrity and believing in who you are so you can accomplish whatever you desire.

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